Is there an easy way to dust these things off without having to buy the K&N kit and go through all that trouble? I don't need it to look like new but it's getting pretty caked in dirt and bugs.

Is it acceptable to use canned or compressed air and come at the air filter from the inside out? How much pressure can I use on it?

 

Before I finally succumbed and used the cleaning/reoiling kit on mine, I took a vacuum and cleaned off a good bit of the big stuff. I'm sure you could use a decent amount of compressed air and blow some crud off, blowing from the inside. The Steeda filter is pretty durable. But what really will harm your performance is the small stuff that gets trapped in the filter and held in place by the oil. I paid about $25 (incl. s&h) for the cleaning kit and after thinking I felt a performance and saw a slight mileage improvement (the jury is still out), I'm glad I did the cleaning and reoiling.

You could also get a non-oiled replacement (Amsoil sells some but I couldn't find one that was an exact replacement.

 

I've got a brand new JLT2 filter ready to slap in sitting up in the closet right now. I don't want to put it in until next spring though. This one only has about 6000 miles on it. I just want to do a quick cleaning to stretch it out for another year. Our roads are horrible up here six months out of the year so I get a lot of dirt in there.

I'll try the vacuum actually that's probably a good idea. If that doesn't quite do it then I'll head over to my friend's house and use his compressor on it.

The new filter only cost me $50 so it's borderline whether the hassle of the K&N is worth the $25 savings.

 

The cleaning kit may have cost me the ~$25 but I expect to get at least 6 cleanings out of it. That'll probably last me until I sell the car. That was the only reason I went with a cleaning kit vs. a replacement filter. BTW, the kit itself was only about $16 or $19. It was the S&H that was the b**ch. If you can find one locally, all the better.

 

Ah I didn't know it was good for more than one cleaning. If I were going to keep the intake for more than another 1-2 years I would probably invest in it then. Couple years from now though and it'll be a blower. So the JLT will be going bye-bye anyway at that point.

I appreciate the info/suggestions.

 

I bought the K&N cleaning kit from AutoZone a couple of years ago and have used it at least six times already (110K on the car). I think there is enough left for me to clean and oil the filter again this weekend. If not, I will buy another kit. The filter seems like it will last forever (btw... the direction say not to use compressed air on the filter, I never have and that may be why mine is still in great shape after so many years/miles).

 

Yeah, I always hear or read about not using compressed air on oiled filters. They say it damages the filter elements that actually trap the smallest particles.

 

If I use any compressed air I'm not going to hold it up against the filter. It'll be held far enough back such that it doesn't result in a hurricane force wind.